New England Patriots
Stevens, the only person to play college football with no legs, is at the Super Bowl opening doors and advocating for people with disabilities.
Dave Stevens on Radio Row Khari Thompson/Boston.com
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SAN FRANCISCO — The opening night ceremony for Super Bowl LX was brimming with reporters from outlets around the country.
They formed semi-circles around ten booths, peppering star players like Drake Maye and Stefon Diggs with questions so quickly that journalists had to practically scream for a chance to get one in.
Reporters had a slightly better shot with the players who weren’t at booths. They were walking around, taking in the scene. Patriots linebacker Jack Gibbens was one of them.
He spotted, among the crowd, a man sitting on the floor with his camera set up for interviews. So, Gibbens sat down next to him on the floor and had a conversation.
“I wanted him to feel comfortable doing his job and ask any questions he wanted,” Gibbens said. “I know it was kind of a circus in there and it can be easy for people to get overlooked because there were just tons of people running around. I wanted to take the time to sit down with him and give him that opportunity and that respect.”
Dave Stevens — who was born without legs — made the hour-long trip from San Francisco to San Jose on a lift van that the NFL provided. He rolled into the McEnery Convention Center in his wheelchair. The wheelchair sat a few feet away as he talked with Gibbens.
“While it’s new to the world, it’s kind of the only way that I can have an advantage on other reporters,” Stevens said. “Because if you’ve got 20 or 30 guys standing there talking to somebody and this legless guy comes crawling up to you and pulls on your pant leg, you’re going to turn around and go ‘oh, cool, let me do this.’ It gives me that advantage, having that disadvantage already.”
Heartwarming: Patriots star LB Jack Gibbens joined reporter Dave Stevens on the floor so he could interview him.
“Well, you’re a linebacker, you’re used to sitting people down with one hit, so thanks for coming down to my level for a moment.”
Stevens is a congenital amputee and… pic.twitter.com/SeY1qNMC9N
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 4, 2026
Photos and videos of his chat with the Patriots have gone viral, with millions of views on social media, but it’s nothing new to Stevens. He spent 20 years at ESPN working behind the scenes on shows like “Sunday Night Football” and “Baseball Tonight.” His contributions have earned him seven Emmy awards.
He’s covering his 30th Super Bowl. He has interviewed big names such as Aaron Rodgers and Rob Gronkowski. After being laid off from ESPN in 2015, he started a podcast, the Dave Stevens Show. He has a booth on Radio Row.
Stevens grew up with two big dreams: To play minor league baseball and to become one of the greatest sports broadcasters of all time, like Howard Cosell.
Ask him how he developed the determination to chase those dreams, and he’ll say that he had no other choice. Sitting back and feeling sorry for himself was simply not an option.
“For a kid with no legs who grew up poor and and adopted had to deal with what I had to deal with, those were unrealistic goals, but I did them,” Stevens said.
Stevens is the only person to ever play college football or minor league baseball without legs. He played nose guard at Division III Augsburg University in Minnesota. He once pinch-hit for Darryl Strawberry during a stint with the Saint Paul Saints.
This week in San Francisco, he is doing his show, catching up with old ESPN friends, and advocating on behalf of people with disabilities. He doesn’t like being called disabled, he said, because he believes his accomplishments show that he is more than capable of living a fulfilling life.
“I like to teach empathy instead of sympathy,” Stevens said. “I wish more and more people would realize that people with disabilities can make an impact. We do have value.
“It doesn’t matter if you have autism or Parkinson’s or anything. There’s value in everybody and we need to recognize that when it comes to jobs and not having people on social security and disability. I know they want to try, but society doesn’t always embrace that.”
Sometimes, being the only person in the room with no legs can feel like being the “elephant in the room,” he said. Moments like the one he shared with Gibbens help break the barriers down.
“I think they end up feeling better because it breaks that elephant in the room down,” Stevens said. “Now they’re at my level and we’re just looking eye to eye and having a conversation and they respect you and they see you. These guys start coming up to you at events and say ‘hey, it’s good to see you.’
“You build those relationships out of mutual respect. That’s all I ask for, to just look at me, listen to me. I wish I was on air years ago, but now I’m living my dream. I’m doing my own hours, I represent something called the Abilities Expo where I’m on TV promoting them and stuff. I’m just a kid still trying to do my thing.”
BEAUTIFUL MOMENT:#Patriots standout linebacker Jack Gibbens joined a disabled reporter on the floor so he could interview him.
🥹🥹🥹
This is the most beautiful photo you will see.
(📸CHGO_Sports) pic.twitter.com/DCSnSRDO1s
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) February 3, 2026
Patriots special teams coach Jeremy Springer said seeing Gibbens sit down with Stevens was no surprise. Gibbens is a tone-setter in the Patriots’ locker room because of the way he prepares and how he treats people, he said.
“That’s how he’s been from Day 1. When I talk about unselfishness on this team, Gibbens is up there on the top tier,” Springer said. “He’ll do anything he can for this team. He’ll help any player in need. He cares so much about the people in the building. He prepares that way, he acts that way. “When you see something like that it’s like ‘oh, that’s Jack.’”
Gibbens said he has been surprised by the social media attention. Treating people with empathy is just the right thing to do, he said.
“I think other guys on the team probably did that, it just didn’t get caught on camera,” Gibbens said. “So, I think that’s just how you treat people. You want everyone to feel comfortable and respected.”
Stevens hopes that he’ll get a chance to sit down with Gibbens again in the future. The Patriots linebacker’s gesture helped put a spotlight on his platform, which he’s using to help others.
“There’s not a lot of guys like me out there doing what I’m trying to do,” Stevens said. “So, if I can open up doors and try to get those doors to stay open for equal opportunities, that’s all I want.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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